Nvidia's Strategic Bets on AI Infrastructure Companies

Nvidia Corp.'s (NASDAQ:NVDA) reported talks to invest in AI startup Perplexity at a valuation exceeding $30 billion are notable on their own. However, the proposed deal also fits an increasingly familiar pattern: Nvidia is repeatedly investing in companies that build their AI businesses on the same infrastructure the chipmaker sells.

According to The Information, Nvidia is discussing participating in Perplexity's next funding round, which would value the AI search and AI agent startup at more than $30 billion. This follows Perplexity's announcement last month that it plans to deploy Nvidia's new Vera CPUs for AI agent workloads after finding the chips significantly outperformed traditional server processors for some of its core tasks.

The reported investment is not an isolated example. Earlier this year, Nvidia expanded its relationship with AI cloud provider CoreWeave, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWV) by investing another $2 billion in the company while deepening their infrastructure partnership. CoreWeave is deploying multiple generations of Nvidia technology, including Rubin GPUs, Vera CPUs, and BlueField networking, as it builds AI factories for enterprise customers.

Nvidia's latest Form 13F shows CoreWeave remains one of the chipmaker's largest publicly disclosed equity holdings, alongside stakes in companies including Nebius Group N.V. (NASDAQ:NBIS), Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC), Nokia Corp (NYSE:NOK), and Synopsys, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNPS).

Nebius has emerged as another AI infrastructure company expanding cloud capacity around Nvidia GPUs, giving the chipmaker exposure not only through chip sales but also through its equity position.